The Big Four: Genesis
by EmJelenKoala
Summary: A Scottish princess, wanting to be understood. A chieftain's son, torn between his people and his heart. A new spirit, longing to be known. A trapped girl, determined to see the world. Four different people, but all have one thing in common—they refuse to be alone any longer. When trouble arises, will these heroes bind together? Or is that not Destiny's way? SHIPS INSIDE
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: 'Sup, guys! I'm really excited for this story. I'm more than a little obsessed with the Big Four... (Jack Frost especially... Like I mean come ON! That smirk, though! *cough* What? No, I wasn't fangirling... maybe. *cough*)**

 **This fic contains Merricup, and hints to Jackunzel. I would have put it in the hook, but I ran out of room. So if you don't like these ships, and are going to be hating because of it, don't read it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own squat. If I did, the Big Four would actually be a movie or a TV show. Same for if I was world dictator. See? I would be a fair and just ruler... for all fangirls. * _Jack mutters in my ear_ * Oh... I am getting off track. Vote for me! Okay bye.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Merida opened her eyes as sunshine filtered through her window, a grin spreading across her face.

Ever since the spell had been broken, nearly two years ago, there was no rising early unless she wanted to. But today, she did.

The red haired princess leapt out of bed, racing around the room to get dressed. She had been planning this day for weeks, and she couldn't wait to get started.

About a month back, while out riding Angus along the shore, Merida had seen a bunch of sea pillars away in the water. Excited at the thought of climbing them, she had raced back home to tell her father, Fergus, her idea. Neither of her parents had been too happy with the thought of their daughter on the sea, climbing the perilous rocks called Dragon's Teeth. But still, Fergus had allowed her to take a boat once it was ready, and enough men were ready to row her there. But on Merida's part, she couldn't be late.

And she wasn't about to be.

Snatching up her bow and quiver, she raced out the door, not even bothering to check her reflection. Merida had never been that girl, who wanted to make sure they always looked good and proper, and was always swooning over boys. She hadn't had a crush her whole life, and the only thing she longed after was adventure, and freedom. And the eighteen-year old saw no need to keep her wild red locks neat and constrained—in a way, it showed who she was.

Rushing into the courtyard, the Scottish princess grabbed an apple from a tray before jumping down half the steps, and rushing to the docks.

The captain looked up as he heard her arrival. "I didn't think you were gonna make it, lass."

"But I did. I wouldn't miss it for the world." she proclaimed, ignoring his hand and leaping onto the boat herself. She wasn't one to accept chivalry, either.

He rolled his eyes at her familiar, feisty attitude, and turned to his crew. "She made it, lads! We're off!"

* * *

The shadows of the rock pillars became more prominent as the mist set in around them. There was no life, anywhere.

"You sure you still want to climb the Teeth, Highness? I can barely see you, and you're right in front of me." the captain asked.

"Yes." Merida stated determinedly. Nothing was going to ruin this day, not even what she'd decided was just a little mist. Besides, she'd climbed in worse… right?

He didn't look happy about it, but the captain allowed them to continue on.

"Alright, we're here. We've stopped right below this pillar, Majesty, and so you can just start climbing right here on the starboard side."

"Thank you." Merida said, following his directions.

The giant pillar of rock loomed above her, and she swallowed. _I'm not backing out now._ Searching for her first handhold, she reached out, pressing her palm against the rough surface.

It was slow going, much like all rock climbing, but she was making good progress. After a half hour or so, the mist was thinning slightly, and she could make out the top of the rock above her, only twenty or so feet away.

Grinning in triumph, Merida reached out, and grabbed for another handhold, gripping it firmly. Deciding that she climbed better while her mind was distracted, she listened to her surroundings.

To her left, somewhere, wind whistled as it snaked around another pillar, and far away in front of her, plants rustled. The crew beneath her was quiet, only a bit of talking to be heard.

But that didn't last long

Soon, their voices became louder, even though Merida was climbing up and away from them. They seemed panicked.

"What is that?" a crew member's voice came.

"Is it a bat?"

"No. It's too big."

"I… Do you think it might be a dragon, Sir?"

"A dragon? I doubt it."

"This place was named Dragon's Teeth for a reason, Sir."

"I highly doubt—"

Merida tuned them out, listening instead to a new noise. It was much like the whistling wind, only somehow different. Less like the wind was moving around something stationary, and more like something was moving through the wind, at an impossibly fast speed. But that couldn't be possible. Nothing could go that fast.

The sound was gradually growing louder, and so were the panicked voices from the crew below.

 _Tune them out._ Merida thought, closing her eyes. If they panicked, she would panic, and then she would fall. No, that wouldn't be good for anyone, except perhaps the imaginary dragons around here, who would get a damsel in distress to play with.

She snorted. The thought seeming ridiculous.

Merida grabbed another handhold, still trying to calm her nerves, and not really studying her actions. The tiny ledge slanted downward, becoming a difficult hold on its own. But the mist was suddenly strong around her, and had wet the rock, making it dangerously slippery.

Putting a bit more of her weight on that side, she reached for another handhold, while at the same time, moving her foot up.

A blast came from above, and Merida glanced up to see a bright light explode in the sky. "Dragon!" the call came from below, as two more ripped through the clouds.

Her hand slipped, and her heart leapt into her throat. She helplessly scrambled at the ledge, hoping to find something, anything to hold onto.

She fell away from the rock pillar, and began to plummet down towards the water. A scream ripped out of her throat, but she heard nothing but the air rushing past her. Closing her eyes, Merida prepared to die in the freezing cold ocean.

Something ran into her, and she felt herself changing direction.

Gasping, she opened her eyes, and glanced around her, only to see a giant pillar of rock getting all too close. She screamed again and closed her eyes, grabbing onto the thing around her shoulders for dear life.

The gentle coast that she had been experiencing before suddenly became rough, as her kidnapper frantically flapped its wings. There was the sound of something exploding, and rock crumbling and crashing into the water.

Preparing for death the second time in less than a minute, Merida felt the grip on her left arm disappear, and something soft crashing into her. The world went darker as wings wrapped around her, taking the brunt of the impact.

She felt them go head over heels, rolling down a hill. The motion caused the creature's wings to move just a little, and its grip on her was lost, and she went flying out onto the grass, screaming more than she'd care to admit.

Slowly and painfully pushing herself away from the ground, she moved her red curls out of her face.

The creature made a noise, somewhere between a grunt and a growl. Merida glanced up, and saw that its wings were still curled up around its torso. _It must not have realized that it let me go._

She now recognized it as a dragon. It had a rounded head, and a long tail curled around its body, cloaked in scales as dark as night.

Then, green eyes opened, and the dragon unfurled its wings.

Out rose a man covered in armor, his face hidden in his helmet. Strangely, a fin of leather stuck out of the back, and the same material connected his arms and legs. A metal peg leg stood in place of his left foot.

Merida couldn't take her eyes away from him. With the mist around him, he didn't seem to be much more than silhouette, and she could only tell that he was tall, and lean.

Where had he come from? Had he been on the back of the dragon when she'd been kidnapped?

The mysterious man began walking towards her, fiddling with some straps on his arms, and removing the leather wings. "Whoo! That really came out of nowhere!" His tone was cheerful, as if the three of them hadn't nearly died.

A crack came from the pillar that they had nearly ran into, and all three of them turned and froze, watching the mountainous rock crumble into the ocean.

The dragon growled, though not in a threatening way. More as if it was asking a question. It continued to watch the spot where the pillar had been, while the strange man went back to pulling the leather away from his arms, tucking it away.

"We gotta work on your solo-gliding there, bud. That locked up tail makes for some pretty sloppy rescue maneuvers, hey?" He spun a dial on his armor, and the fin on his back retracted.

He straightened, and Merida felt his gaze on her. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

The redhead clenched her jaw, feeling her fiery attitude come back. "Do I _look_ okay?" she asked.

She could almost hear his smile. "No. But you sound fine to me."

Merida scowled, not sure how to respond. "Why did you kidnap me?"

He laughed, looking back at the dragon, who had tilted his head in curiosity. "Kidnap? I thought of it more as a rescue!"

She folded her arms. "I had it under control."

"Yeah, obviously you can fly. My bad."

She raised her eyebrows, a little surprised at the sarcasm. "Well, it seems like a kidnapping if you did it with a dragon," she gestured to the creature, whose green eyes looked almost like an innocent kitten's. "And have your face hidden with a mask."

The mystery man stepped forward with ease on his peg leg. His gait was only slightly off, but instead of appearing as a limp, it almost looked like a saunter. Before Merida could prepare herself, he reached up, and pulled the spiked helmet from his head.

He had thick brown hair, messy from the flight. A warm smile stood on his face, and his emerald green eyes sparkled with exhilaration.

Her blue eyes met his, and she would have fallen to the ground had she not already been sitting. There was an electrifying sense in the air, and she could only think of those beautiful eyes studying her for eternity.

The dream ended when he held out his hand to help her up. "No thanks." she said, pulling herself to her feet.

He laughed, the sparkle in his eyes increasing. "You remind me of my best friend, Astrid."

The dragon snorted, seeming to be hacked off.

"Astrid?" Merida asked. "Strange name."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Believe me, there are stranger ones. How do you like Snotlout?"

"Uh… no."

"Trust me, Toothless. _You're_ my best friend." the man said to the dragon. "Astrid is just my best human friend."

He still looked mad, though it didn't seem to be over the Astrid thing.

"Oh, and this is Toothless." the man said, gesturing to the reptile.

"He doesn't look toothless." Merida said warily.

"Retractable teeth." he stated simply. He turned back to her, capturing her with those electrifying green eyes. "And your name is…?"

"Uh…"

"Nice name. I like it."

 _The sarcasm is back._ "That's not my name. It's Merida."

The genuine smile reappeared, and he stuck out the hand that wasn't holding his helmet. "Hiccup."

"What?" she asked, grasping his hand.

"Hiccup. That's my name."

"That's… strange."

He shrugged. "Like I said, there are stranger names than Astrid." His green eyes wandered over Merida's shoulder, and he walked past her, to the ledge, seeming to take in the view.

The Scottish princess couldn't take her eyes off his tall form, studying every little thing about him. The few locks of his hair that were woven, the proud way he carried himself, as if he had once been at rock bottom, but climbed to the top, and knew that he could do it all over again.

It was how Merida carried herself.

"Looks like we found another one, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless.

 _Another what?_ Merida wanted to ask, but her tongue felt tied in her mouth.

Suddenly, a pebble whacked Hiccup in the back of his head. Immediately, the man turned to look at his dragon.

The flying creature was scowling at him, and turned his back to his friend.

"Oh, what, do you want an apology?" Hiccup asked, his tone mocking.

Toothless growled in a statement sort of way.

"Is that why you're pouting, big baby boo?" the man said, walking up to him.

The dragon grunted.

Hiccup dropped his helmet. "Well, try this on!" He rushed in to wrap his arms around the dragon's dark neck, as if trying to tackle him.

The creature didn't move one inch.

"Oh, you feeling it yet? Huh?" Hiccup wrapped his legs around the dragon. "Picking up on all my heartfelt remorse?"

In response, the dragon stood up on his hind legs, and walked towards the edge of the cliff.

"Ah, yeah. Oh, come on, come on. You wouldn't hurt a one-legged—Gah!" Hiccup grabbed onto the dragon for dear life.

Merida watched with fascination, not sure whether she should interfere or not.

Toothless made a sound that seemed to be laughter.

"Y-you're right, you're right. You win, you win."

Suddenly, the dragon fell backwards, Hiccup falling on top of him.

Merida quickly scrambled out of the way as the two wrestled.

Hiccup laughed. "He's down! And it's ugly!"

Toothless batted at his friend, who continued swatting his feet out of the way.

"Dragons and vikings, enemies again!"

Toothless was now winning, easily batting at the human's face.

"Locked in combat to the bitter—Oh!" Hiccup groaned as the dragon dropped to the ground on top of him.

A playful glint appeared in Toothless's eyes, and he began licking Hiccup repeatedly.

"Ugh, gah!" The man rolled away from his dragon, shaking his arms to get rid of the saliva. "You _know_ that doesn't wash out!"

Toothless seemed to laugh again.

Hiccup scowled, then flicked his hands at his friend, shooting the dragon's own saliva back at him.

The reptile returned the look, and Hiccup grinned smugly, continuing the attempt to get the spit off of him.

Suddenly, something clicked in Merida's mind. "Wait, you're a… a viking?"

He glanced over. "Uh, yeah."

She backed away. His green eyes didn't seem quite so friendly anymore.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked.

"V-vikings attacked my kingdom. They killed hundreds of us. _You_ killed hundreds of us!" she exclaimed, her fiery temper coming back full swing.

He held up his hands, as if trying to placate a savage creature. "Hang on! How long ago was this? I'm only twenty! And trust me, I am _not_ the killing type!"

"You're lying! You're a viking, and you're all the same! Killing everyone, raiding everything! It took uniting four enemy clans to defeat you!"

"Hey, I live on a pretty remote island, and we've been busy trying to keep dragons at bay for most of my life! It could have very well been different vikings! You can't just blindly assign blame!"

"Yeah? Ever heard of Stoick the Vast?"

Those mesmerizing green eyes widened. "S-Stoick? _He_ attacked you guys?"

"So you have heard of him!"

He ran his hand through his thick brown hair. The gesture was attractive, and _super_ annoying. "H-he's my father."

Merida glared, then pulled her bow off of her shoulders, nocking an arrow and drawing the string back to her cheek before Hiccup could react.

"Woah, hey! Can't we come to a truce here?"

"No!"

He sighed. "You remind me of my dad."

"Don't you _dare_ compare me to a viking!" she yelled, drawing her arrow back further.

Toothless was in front of Hiccup, growling threateningly. "Merida, please—"

"No!"

"You can't get down from here alone." he said quietly. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I climb rocks on a daily basis, Viking!"

"I saw you climbing that pillar, Merida. I'm taking your skills into account."

"What—" she broke off as she glanced at the ledge. It was a long drop, and the first one hundred feet of it was smooth, and slippery from the humidity.

"See? Now please, let us take you back to your ship."

As much as Merida longed to scream at him again, she could see his logic. Besides, they wouldn't be taking her all the way back to DunBroch, so the new generation of vikings wouldn't know their location.

And even though she knew he was an enemy, a part of her heart still trusted him, believed in him. Those green eyes still had that earnestness to them, and her knees wobbled, threatening to give out beneath her.

 _Get yourself together! You've fought Mor'du, and you're getting weak-kneed over a viking_ boy _!_

At her hesitation, he sighed. "Fine, have fun getting down by yourself." Hiccup pulled aside a part of his armor, and pulled out a small, leather-bound book. He walked over the ledge and knelt, opening it. He then proceeded to unfold the page into a huge map. Clearly, pieces had been added on and hand-drawn over time.

Hiccup opened another part of his armor, this time on his arm, and ripped out a blank page, then held it out to Toothless.

The dragon extended his pink tongue, and licked the side of the page thoroughly, before Hiccup placed it in the south-east corner of the map, and pulled out a writing utensil.

He pulled a knife from a slot on his left arm's armor, and sharpened the pencil. Merida tensed up at the sight of the blade, but he either didn't notice, or didn't care, as he casually put it back in its sheath, and the pencil in his mouth.

Hiccup popped open a compass attached to his arm, studying it for a moment. Then he looked up, and grabbed the pencil again. "So, what should we name it?" he asked Toothless.

He and Merida both glanced over at the dragon, who was scratching underneath his front-left leg.

Hiccup nodded. "Itchy Armpit it is."

Merida tilted her head, surprised to discover that she couldn't tell when Hiccup was being sarcastic, or serious. It added a new level of mystery to him, and she wanted to explore it.

 _Shut up, Merida._ she scolded herself, turning to the bushes to find a way down.

"What do you reckon, bud? Think we might find a few Timberjacks in those woods? The odd Whispering Death or two in the rocks?"

Merida wondered what he was talking about, before realizing that those might be the names of dragons. She'd never really thought about there being multiple species of dragons, considering that the only magical or mythical thing she'd ever been obsessed with in her childhood was the Will O' the Wisps.

Hiccup continued on with a shrug. "Who knows? Maybe we'll finally track down another Night Fury." he said, looking up at Toothless. "Wouldn't that be something?"

"What's a Night Fury?" Merida asked, before she could bite back the question.

Hiccup looked over at her, not at all surprised to see her still there. "A type of dragon. The kind Toothless is."

"Is he the last one?"

"Don't know yet." He sighed, looking over at Toothless. "So what do you say? Just keep going?" he asked, looking out at the horizon.

"Don't you have to be home?" Merida asked.

He cracked a smile. "Technically yes, but I temporarily ran away."

"What's the point in running away if you're only doing it temporarily?"

"Don't tell me you've never done it."

She opened her mouth to tell him no, until several occasions came rushing back to her.

"Called it."

She hesitated. "It's called Corona."

"What?"

"'Itchy Armpit'. It's called Corona."

"I like Itchy Armpit better." he said, smirking.

She rolled her eyes, and turned back to the bushes.

Suddenly, a squawk came from behind them, and they glanced back.

"If you don't want to deal with more vikings, I recommend you hide over there." Hiccup suggested, pointing to a large, nearby boulder.

Merida only took a moment to send him a withering scowl, before stomping off to the recommended hiding spot.

Peering around the side, she spotted a new dragon and rider. The reptile was blue, with spikes completely covering the tail. It stood on its hind legs, its front legs appearing to not exist, with wings in their place.

The rider was hooded, but seemed to be wearing a skirt of leather that went halfway down their thighs. Furs were everywhere, from their boots to the hood.

Hiccup peered over his shoulder, a small grin on his face. "Afternoon, milady. Where have you been?"

The rider laughed, pulling down their hood. Blond hair was woven into a braid, and bangs kept falling into her face. She greeted a cheerful Toothless with outstretched hands, before joining Hiccup. "Oh, winning races. What else?" She sat next to him by the map, legs crossed. "The real question is, where have _you_ been?"

"Avoiding my dad."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh no. What happened now?"

He snorted, sitting back on his heels. "Oh, you're gonna love this. I wake up, the sun is shining, Terrible Terrors are singing on the rooftop. I saunter down to breakfast thinking all is right with the world, and I get," He stood up, putting a scowl on his face, and lowering his voice significantly. "'Son. We need to talk.'"

Hiccup was about to say something else, when the girl started moving her shoulders strangely, and making her voice childish and annoying. "'Not now, Dad, I got a whole day of goofing off to get started.'" She broke off laughing.

Hiccup couldn't hold back his laughter either. "What? Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that. Who— what is this character? And second—" He gestured to her. "What is that thing you're doing with my shoulders?"

She grinned and continued to move them up and down unnaturally.

"That's— Actually, flattering impersonation." he said sarcastically. "Anyway, he goes," He stood up taller again, putting on a formal face, and marching across the grass. "'You're the pride of Berk, Son. And I couldn't be prouder.'"

The girl began waving her arms around. "'Aw, thanks Dad, I'm pretty impressed with myself too!'"

They both laughed.

Merida couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Who was this girl? Was she Hiccup's girlfriend or something?

 _Shut up, brain!_

"When have I ever done that with my hands?" Hiccup asked, gesturing.

The girl pointed excitedly. "You just _did_!"

"What? Ugh."

She continued moving her shoulders and arms in a weird, jerky fashion.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and ignored her, continuing to imitate his father. "'You're all grown up. And since no chief could ask for a better successor, I've decided—'"

"To make you chief!" the girl exclaimed, standing up excitedly. "Oh my gods! Hiccup, that's amazing!" She punched him in the gut, and the fin popped out of his back.

"Gah!"

She laughed as he gave her a look. "You're gonna wear out the spring coil. The calibration is very sensitive—"

A dragonish squawk came from behind them, and the two racing dragons ran right into their owners, knocking them to the ground before continuing on.

The girl pulled herself off of Hiccup, and held out a hand as he rolled over into a sitting position.

He sighed. "Yeah, so…" He accepted her hand. "This is what I'm dealing with."

"What did you tell him?"

He shrugged. "I—I didn't. By the time he turned around, I was gone."

She bent down and picked up the map. "Huh. Well, it's a lot of responsibility. The map will have to wait, for sure." She handed it over. "And I'll need to fly Toothless since you'll be too busy, but—" she broke off and turned around as she seemed to realize what Hiccup's expression would be.

His face had fallen, and his beautiful green eyes had turned sad. "It's not me, Astrid." he said quietly.

Merida felt a sense of victory at realizing that this girl was nothing more than Hiccup's friend. _Shut up!_ she screamed at herself.

"All those speeches, and planning, and running the village, that's _his_ thing."

"I think you're missing the point. I mean, _chief_! What an honor! I'd be pretty excited."

Hiccup put the map back in his armor. "I—" He smiled sadly. "I'm not like you. You know _exactly_ who you are, you always have. But I'm still looking." He bent down and picked up his helmet. "I know that I'm not my father, and I never met my mother, so," He looked down at his hands as he sat down. "What does that make me?"

Astrid pressed her lips together, then sat down next to her friend. "What you're searching for isn't out there, Hiccup." She pointed to his chest. "It's in here. Maybe you just don't see it yet."

His green eyes latched onto something on the horizon. "Maybe. But you know, there _is_ something out there."

She rolled her eyes. "Hiccup—"

He stuck a finger under her chin, and pushed her face up. Just as fast as his, her eyes focused on smoke beyond the snowy mountains.

"What—"

"I told you. That's Corona." Merida muttered, coming out of hiding.

After overhearing the entire conversation with Astrid, Merida's heart had won over her mind. Though he was a viking, Hiccup was going through some of the same problems as her. After working so hard to gain her freedom, Merida still didn't know who she was. And how could she? She had just about as much substance as the wind she chased. Hiccup was obviously no different. He was just like her.

You know, except that he was a viking.

Astrid was up on her feet. "Who are you?"

Hiccup sent a questioning look to the red-haired princess, before making the introductions. "Merida, Astrid. Astrid, Merida."

"I was climbing the rocks and his dragon saved me." Merida reluctantly muttered.

"I guess that's the closest I'm gonna get to a thank you, huh?" Hiccup asked, that tantalizing smirk back on his face.

Astrid tilted her head. "You're not a viking, are you?"

Merida's gaze darkened, but she managed to refrain from pulling out a weapon this time. "No."

"Merida lives around here. She says that over there is a kingdom called Corona." Hiccup explained.

Merida stepped forward to join them on the ledge. "Well, technically Corona is two islands. The city, and the castle are on a smaller island, further on. But this island _is_ a part of the kingdom, though few people live here."

"Then what could the smoke be?" Astrid asked.

The princess squinted, studying the land ahead of her. "I think that it's coming from the coast. The island's shaped a little weird."

"We should go and check it out." Hiccup said, mounting his Night Fury. "There's too much smoke for it to be a campfire, or even a chimney. It could be more dragons."

"I'm coming with you." Astrid said, swinging onto her blue dragon.

The two vikings looked expectantly at the princess.

"Well I'm not." Merida forced her tongue to say. "And I can't exactly get home." she muttered.

Hiccup smirked. "Is that another thank you in Merida-ish? Wow!"

She scowled. "Shut up, Viking. Just take me back to my boat."

He nodded, and gestured to the spot behind him on the black, scaley dragon.

"I'd better not fall."

"Fine. We'll just do a few spins."

"No."

"Astrid, go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Night Fury's are faster anyways." And he took off into the sky.

* * *

Merida charged into the dining room at lunchtime, not knowing what to feel. So she chose anger.

"Somebody's in a mood." Fergus noted.

The princess grunted.

"Did Dragon's Teeth not turn out like you'd hoped?" Elinor asked.

"I guess you could say that." Merida muttered.

"How so?"

She scowled, not sure how to respond. She didn't want to get her father into "Defense Mode", as she called it, but she didn't want to lie either.

 _Half-truths will have to do._ "I slipped off the rocks, and a dragon snatched me up."

Fergus laughed. "They're on the far side of Corona at the closest. Dragons don't come here."

"It's true." Merida insisted. "But the dragon couldn't fly very well by himself. Something about a locked tail…?"

"What, did the dragon talk too?" her father teased.

"No. But his rider sure did."

Hamish, Harris, and Hubert looked up in interest.

Merida continued her story. "But then another pillar came out of nowhere, and we almost crashed into it. Thankfully, the dragon blasted it with fire, and it crumbled. Then we landed just before Corona. And the boy introduced himself."

"What might this young lad's name be?" Elinor asked.

"Hiccup."

Fergus chortled.

"He said that everyone had weird names where he was from. Anyway, then another dragon rider showed up, Astrid. Apparently they'd never been here before, since Hiccup was adding to his map."

"Did they say where they're from?" Fergus asked.

 _Berk. But you might know where that is._ "Uh… no."

Elinor straightened. "Well, that is very interesting. Why didn't you invite them back here?"

"They had to go. Something about 'temporarily running away'."

Fergus laughed. "He sounds exactly like you!"

"Figured that out for myself already, Dad." Merida muttered under her breath. "I think I'll go shooting now."

"Be back for dinner, darling." Elinor said.

Merida couldn't hit a single target. She just sat on a log, staring at the sky, half-hoping that she would spot the dark silhouette of a Night Fury fly across it.

Hiccup of Berk had left a greater impression than either of them had expected.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Corona, golden hair flew out of a tower, and a cloaked girl silently descended. Grinning, she splashed in the cold stream, before racing through a crack in the rocks, and into the forest beyond.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys liked it! 'Cause I sure did! I got inspiration for this by watching a fan video, to the song I Really Like You. It showed a whole bunch of couples meeting, like Willet, Jelsa, Merricup, and Hip (Wilbur and Violet, Jack and Elsa, Merida and Hiccup, and Hiro and Tip). Their username was TheTamy04 on YouTube, if you want to check their channel out (which I totally recommend!).**

 **Sorry that I'm not really writing in Merida's accent. A part of my logic was that she wouldn't interpret herself as having an accent, so I would just write it in normally, with occasional words like lad or lass. I mean, if we always wrote in accents, I'd wri' som' lie this. Ha, no. Not happening. Also, I'm just lazy, and don't want to mess up Merida's AWESOME accent!**

 **I know it'll be hard to keep up with updating this story and my first, Forgotten Family (check it out! ROTG/HP crossover!), so updates may be sporadic for a while. But I just loved this story so much that I couldn't keep it from you! So here it is! And Jack shows up in the next chapter! * _Merida, Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Jack all give me a look_ * Um... right. I should stop rambling. **

**Follow, Favorite, and Review! :) They make me feel like I'M WALKIN' ON SUNSHINE, WOAH! Heheh. Au revoir, mes amies!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! My favorite character shows up in this chapter. *dodges arrow* He's my favorite because he doesn't shoot arrows at me, Merida! *ducks* Anyways, little note of vague importance. The way Rapunzel's healing magic works is that she can only use it on others. She can heal faster than the average person, because that magic flows through her, but she can't sing the song and make her hair glow, and suddenly make herself better. So yep! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Rapunzel jumped as the leaves rustled. "What is it, Pascal?" she whispered to her chameleon.

The tiny green creature emerged from her hair, scampering across her frying pan to get a closer look. After a moment, he shrugged, and returned to his spot on her shoulder.

"Not helpful." Rapunzel muttered. After a small hesitation, she took a step closer, and prodded the bushes with her pan.

A bunny leapt out, and bounded across the grass to a nearby log.

The girl squealed. "It's a dragon!"

Pascal shook his head.

"A lion?"

He raised an eyebrow.

She frowned, turning on her artist's brain to remember the brief image. "A rabbit?"

He nodded.

She sighed in relief. "At least it wasn't a dragon."

The two continued on. In all honesty, Rapunzel didn't have a clue where they were going. She didn't have a destination in mind, and she had never left her tower before, in all of her seventeen years.

The day before, she had tricked her mother, Gothel, into leaving for a week to the nearby kingdom where she had a small shop of knicknacks set up. She felt guilty for tricking her mother, who'd never done anything but try to protect her, but she was feeling a little rebellious. She had only asked to go in the clearing around the tower, but Mother had refused even that little privilege. All Rapunzel had really wanted was to feel the grass between her toes.

So then, after Gothel had left, Rapunzel had put on a cloak, grabbed Pascal, and left. But now that she was out in the forest, she understood how undeveloped her plan was. She didn't have any food, she didn't know where there was water, and she had no way to defend herself against the dangerous things in the world that Mother had always told her about. Besides her frying pan, of course, but she wasn't quite sure how that would turn out.

"I guess we could always go back for food." Rapunzel admitted to Pascal.

The chameleon gave her a look.

"If we weren't already lost." she sighed.

She could have stopped at a building they had recently passed by. She'd heard all sorts of people in there. But after only talking to one person her whole life, being suddenly encountered with dozens was a little too much for her to handle.

The duo had stopped outside for a moment, hoping that someone would come out and she could have a one-on-one chat with them to figure out where she was. But then Rapunzel had realized that it wouldn't be very helpful if she didn't know where she was even trying to get to. So they had left, continuing on to who-knows-where.

If only she could run into someone that she could relate to. Someone who didn't have a lot of experience with people, and would be okay with her quirks and shyness.

She sighed. "If only there was someone like that, huh, Pascal?"

The chameleon tilted his head in confusion.

She shook her head. "Nevermind. Long thought process."

Glancing ahead, Rapunzel spotted a small cave. "Maybe we could go in there and make a plan."

Pascal glared at the cave, but Rapunzel didn't notice as she continued inside, and sat on a rock. "Maybe we can find where the lights come from. I mean, they won't come until next summer, but if we can find our way there, maybe we can do it again when they _do_ come. Right? Pascal?"

The chameleon was no longer on her shoulder. "Where'd you go?" She managed to spot him on the floor, camouflaged into the rocky ground. "Pascal, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She soon discovered the problem.

A deep growl resonated throughout the cave, and Rapunzel froze. She slowly turned around, to meet the dark eyes of a large, furry creature.

"Bear?" she squeaked to Pascal.

The chameleon nodded.

"…Maybe this one's friendly?" she asked hopefully.

The bear opened its mouth, revealing its shining, yellow teeth as it roared.

"That's a no."

She bolted out of the cave, scooping up her frying pan and Pascal along the way, the bear right on her heels.

As she ran, she tried to scoop up more and more of her hair, so that it wouldn't end up caught on anything around her—or in the bear's mouth.

Rapunzel darted around trees and over logs, through streams and under branches, hoping to somehow lose the bear. But somehow, no matter how many corners she ran around, it still managed to find her. Maybe it heard her screaming.

She ran into a clearing, hoping to get away. But instead, she found herself up against a rocky cliff, with nowhere to run.

Hearing a growl, she whirled around to see the bear, cornering her.

Rapunzel frantically glanced around at her surroundings, searching for something to save her. She could only think to climb those trees.

"Quick Pascal, climb!" She tossed her only friend towards the branches.

When he missed, he shot out his tongue, and latched onto the tree.

Rapunzel held out her frying pan as threateningly as she could manage, backing into the trunk. "Back! If you don't, I'll… I'll do something very bad that I haven't quite thought of yet!"

The bear continued to advance.

Rapunzel's green eyes shot above her, spotting a sturdy branch to wrap her hair around. Still holding her frying pan with her left hand, she grabbed her hair and tossed it up, wrapping it tightly around the limb.

She tucked her frying pan between her knees, and started to climb, but something painful yanked her head back, and tears escaped her eyes. "No! Just leave me alone!"

The bear roared, and clawed at her. It caught a hold of the hem of her purple dress, and rip sounded in her ears just before a hot pain pierced her calf, and she screamed. But in spite of the pain, she continued to climb. But the pain was almost unbearable.

Another round of hurt appeared in her foot as the bear caught it. Salty tears fell from her cheeks as she screamed again, and yanked herself up out of its reach.

The bear continued to growl at her, but she seemed to be safe.

But then it started climbing the tree.

She burst into tears again. "No!" She didn't have it in her to climb any further, and the bear would soon be upon her.

It served her right for leaving her tower. She deserved to die out here, at the hands of a vicious bear. Why did she ever think she could do this?

Rapunzel wrapped her arms around the trunk of the tree, and pressed her tear stained face into the bark as the bear clawed at her hair.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped. Even though it was a relatively warm day, it was suddenly as cold as the middle of winter.

"Hey _Idiot_!" a voice called.

The bear's attention suddenly seemed divided, as it lowered itself back to the ground, and turned to the owner of the voice.

Something cold landed on Rapunzel's cheek, and her vibrant green eyes opened as she gazed around in wonder.

The clearing was blanketed in snow, and more was coming down from the sky. Frost traveled at an unusual speed as it zoomed up from the trunk of the tree to beneath her fingers in a matter of seconds.

"I recommend skedaddling if you want to stay a black bear. Otherwise, I'll turn you into a polar bear." the voice said.

The bear growled, and a hiss of pain was heard.

"Really? _Really_? Gonna be stubborn? Fine then." The sound of crackling ice reached Rapunzel's ears, and the temperature lowered further.

The wind whistled. "Now get out of here, before I turn you into an ice statue instead."

A growl came, but it seemed more reluctant, and the sound of the bear's breathing soon disappeared.

A moment of silence. "You can come down from the tree now." the voice muttered.

Rapunzel glanced to Pascal, whose jaw had dropped at the sight below them. Wondering what it was, she slowly lowered herself from the tree.

In the middle of the snow, a boy stood. His ice blue gaze followed her as she came to the ground. The wind blew through his snow white hair as he leaned against a hooked, wooden staff. Snowflakes danced in the air around him, a shield against some unseen force. A frost-coated, brown cloak covered his shoulders, but he was barefoot. A darkened spot of blood was becoming more prominent on his simple white shirt, no doubt where the bear had gotten to him. A brown vest that matched his cloak hung on his thin frame, with similar pants that were torn at the bottom. The boy was tall, and on the skinny side. And though a small smirk stood on his face, there was a kind of pain in his eyes.

One that Rapunzel knew she could never fix.

* * *

 **A/N** **: How was it? You should leave a review and tell me. *smiles innocently* In fact, here's an actual question for you to answer: How did you like my description of Jack? (He's the guy at the end, in case you didn't catch that.) And ask me questions! I'll PM you with responses to said questions! Also, I'm planning on updating every weekend, but we'll see how that goes with my hectic life. Maybe I'll even get a boyfriend! (As if.)**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review, and see you next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm back! Here's the next chapter. You're gonna start seeing those bits of Jackunzel in here... heheheheh... BUT! The friendship came first with this one. That's my difference between Merricup and Jackunzel. Merricup was pretty much immediate, Jackunzel will take time. But it's definitely still there. *cheeky smile* Now! Enough with the rambling! Let Chapter 3 begin!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Wish I did, though. If you want me to be world dictator, let me know!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Jack stopped smiling as he saw the snow beneath her feet turn red. "You're hurt." he whispered.

The wind picked up, and he lifted into the air, zooming towards her. She stumbled and fell, beginning to cry.

"It's okay, it's okay." Jack whispered. He held out a hand, and blew across it. Several snowflakes—blue instead of white—appeared, and ran into her nose.

The fear disappeared from her green eyes, and a laugh escaped her throat.

Jack smiled. "That's better. Now, I need to get you somewhere where you can be healed. I doubt the Snuggly Duckling is the place to go. They'd just give you peg legs. Hm…" He scowled in thought. Maybe one of the nearby kingdoms? But both of those were on completely different islands. There was no guarantee that this girl would last that long. And then there was the problem of getting her there. She couldn't walk, she'd only lose more blood. And Jack couldn't carry her. He'd pass right through her.

"But _you're_ hurt." the girl whispered.

His ice blue eyes snapped to her in surprise, and they locked gazes. "Wait, you can… _see_ me?"

She nodded. "Yeah…"

His eyes widened. "No one's ever been able to see me before." he whispered.

She tilted her head. "Why not? You're right here… How could they not see you?"

"I have no idea. They just don't." He ran a hand through his snow-white hair, disbelief overwhelming him. After a year of being the invisible boy, the ghost that people walked through, here was someone who could actually _see_ him. He wanted to fly into the air and announce it to the world. Not that the world could hear it, but he wanted to celebrate _somehow_.

Her green eyes fell back onto his arm. "You need help."

"Not as much as you." Jack insisted. The red now staining the pure white snow was definitely cause for concern.

She bit her lip. "It's not _that_ bad… right?"

He hesitated, then knelt, setting his staff to the side. Gently, he reached out and pulled her leg closer.

She cried out in pain, tears falling down her cheeks again.

Jack winced. He'd always hated to see children cry. They were pure, and innocent. They deserved better than the life they were given. Even if this girl was much older, she was still exactly that: a child.

"Shh. Hey, hey. None of that."

Her lower lip quivered. "B-but it _hurts_!" she exclaimed, her fearful eyes latched onto the red in the snow.

He hunched his shoulders, feeling guilty. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't look down, just… look at me." he said gently, the words feeling strangely familiar on his tongue.

She obeyed, her beautiful, wide eyes meeting his once more.

"We're going to have a little fun instead." he whispered, his pale blue eyes searching hers for that familiar little spark of fun.

It flickered into existence, though it didn't become strong enough to overpower the fear. Just enough to keep it at bay.

He focused again on her hurt legs. "I need to get you to Corona, they have some pretty good healers there. But it's so far away…"

"Is it bad?"

He forced himself to meet her gaze. "Not horribly so." he answered honestly. She _was_ in danger of losing too much blood, but it wasn't likely. No, the more likely risk was infection. "But if we leave it be, it can only get worse."

When her breath hitched, Jack flashed her a reassuring grin. "And we can't have that ruining your fun, can we?"

A small smile graced her lips. "I suppose not." she let out a small laugh.

"Corona's too far. I need to get you to DunBroch."

"How?"

Jack allowed the wind to start lifting him up, though he kept his face level with the girl's. "Flying, of course."

The spark of fun in her eyes grew as she gasped.

The winter spirit snatched up his staff, and began to pull her into his arms, bridal style, before a searing pain raced up his left arm.

"You can't carry me with your arm like that." the girl insisted at his sharp intake of air.

"I'll be fine." he said through gritted teeth. "I'll figure something out."

She bit her lip again. "I… I can fix it."

"How?"

"Um…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the bloodied ground again.

He scowled. "The fear's back."

She looked intently at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm not supposed to say. I shouldn't have said anything. I should have…"

She continued to ramble on about things she should and shouldn't have done. Knowing that he wasn't going to get her to stop, he took the opportunity to study her.

The girl had a purple dress on, but it was now torn at the bottom, no doubt where the bear had clawed her. She wore no shoes, and her shoulders were draped in a black, hooded cloak. But all around her, and even wrapped around a branch in the tree, was _very_ long, golden-blond hair. The girl herself radiated kindness, but the hair was radiating something more than that. Something that he had become very familiar with over the last year.

"I'm no stranger to magic." he said to her, and her eyes snapped up to his.

"How did you…?"

Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked. He twirled a finger in the air, creating a small flurry. " _I'm_ magic. I can sense it pretty easily."

She watched the snowflakes in fascination. "Who…?"

"My name is Jack Frost. And you are?"

"Rapunzel."

"Gesundheit." He looked back at the bloodstained snow. "We'd better hurry. I won't be able to get you to DunBroch in time if I can't carry you."

She nodded grimly, and yanked over a handful of hair. "Just don't… Don't freak out." Not even hesitating for a moment after, she wrapped a few locks a couple of times around his forearm. She took in a breath, and began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your powers shine."

As she sang, the golden hair began to glow at the roots, before traveling throughout the entire length of her hair.

"Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine. What once was mine."

As she finished the small song, she pulled the locks away from his arm. There was no sign that he'd ever been hurt. No blood, not even a scar.

"Wow." Jack commented lamely.

She blushed, scooping up a chameleon and a frying pan. "Your magic is cooler."

"Yes, I suppose it is." he said, grinning.

She hesitated, then laughed.

 _Good. Keep her happy._ Jack thought, scooping her into his arms, making sure to keep a tight grip on his staff. Thankfully, she was lighter than he had anticipated, but then again, he'd never picked anyone up before.

"I'm going to start flying so…" He grinned, remembering her words. "Don't freak out."

A gasp of delight escaped her lips as they shot into the air, flying high above the trees.

 _Keep her distracted from her legs._ "So… what did you say your name was?"

"Rapunzel." she said again.

"Are you sneezing, or is that your name?"

"That's my name." She looked up at him, a mischievous grin on her face. "Is Frost _your_ real name?"

"Yep."

"How do you know that?"

"The moon told me so."

Her eyes widened. "The moon talks to you?"

Jack's expression darkened. No, the moon did not talk to him. He hadn't spoken to him since he came out of the ice. He hadn't told him what he was supposed to do, or why he'd been put there. Just formed him in the lake, plopped him in the world, and said, "Your name is Jack Frost. Go get your self-esteem lowered by being completely alone and invisible. 'Kay bye."

"No." Jack answered. "That was all he ever told me."

"How do you know that the moon is a he?"

"I just do."

"Okay…" She glanced back to the snowy clearing they had left, though it was long since out of sight. "Are you a winter spirit or something?"

"Yep."

"So you're immortal?"

"I dunno. Guess so."

"Well, how old are you?"

"A year."

"You don't look a year old."

"I was formed in a lake and then broke through the ice. And it's not _quite_ a year. In December, it will be."

"So you were just born knowing how to speak, walk, use magic… can you read?"

"Yeah."

"So essentially, you never had to learn anything. You were just born with all this knowledge."

"Not really _born_." Jack muttered, picking up speed. "When I was formed, yeah."

"Unbelievable." Rapunzel muttered, looking at her chameleon, which was hanging onto her hair for dear life. "Well, I'm seventeen, as of June."

Jack tilted his head. "By what I've seen, I look seventeen."

"I wouldn't know. I've never met anyone my age."

"Why not?"

"Well, um… I have pretty powerful healing magic. When…" she seemed hesitant to continue.

"It's okay. I don't bite."

She cracked a smile. "It feels like you're biting my nose right now."

"That's just the cold." Jack explained.

"Jack Frost is nipping at my nose." she said, laughing.

Jack rolled his eyes, but laughed along with her.

Once she'd calmed down, Jack carefully adjusted his grip on his staff. "So… what about your healing magic?"

She muttered something under her breath, glancing at her chameleon.

Jack grinned in amusement, and waited.

Her vibrant green eyes hesitantly met his gaze, and she sighed. "When I was a baby, people tried to cut my hair, to take the power for themselves. But instead…" She glanced to the chameleon, who pulled out a shorter lock of brown hair. "It lost its power. So Mother moved us away from everyone, into the forest, and into a tower. She comes and goes, trying to get us food and money, but I just stay there." She attempted a casual shrug, though her arms were still wrapped around his neck. "I'd never even left the tower until this morning."

Jack landed smoothly in the middle of a forest, deciding to give the already breathless girl some form of a break. "Wow." he whispered. Rapunzel was just the same as him in some ways, but completely different in others. Both of them were alone, and never had a friend besides their parental figure, though Jack wasn't sure the moon counted in his case. But for Jack, he had too much freedom, while Rapunzel had none. She'd been in one place her whole life, while Jack had been constantly on the go, with no place to ever call home. He had no anchor.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he spotted the little green chameleon on Rapunzel's shoulder, eyeing him.

"What? Oh, and this is Pascal, my best friend."

 _That's kind of sad. Then again, the wind is my best friend, so I'm one to talk._

The moment Jack set her down on a log, the chameleon began walking down her arm, and she extended it enough for him to be eye to eye with Jack. He glared at the spirit for a moment, then smiled and trotted back to Rapunzel's shoulder.

She smiled. "He likes you."

"Good to know." Jack's mind began to wander, thinking of all the places he'd been to in less than a year, and feeling bad for Rapunzel. She'd only seen one place for seventeen years.

"What are you planning to do, being out of your tower and all?" he asked.

She laughed softly. "I don't know. I convinced Mother to spend a week away in her shop. I just wanted to get out of there."

"So you don't know where you're going?" he asked in surprise.

"No." she admitted sheepishly.

Jack bit his lip, seating himself in front of her. "Well, I've been all over the place. Maybe… maybe once you get help, we could… I don't know… go on an adventure?" He hugged his staff closer, suddenly aware of how stupid that had sounded.

Rapunzel beamed. "Really? You… you'd do that for me?"

"Sure. I mean… you're the only person to ever see me. Can you blame me for wanting to stick by you?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder. Jack automatically flinched, expecting her hand to pass right through him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, withdrawing.

"Nothing. I just… people usually pass right through me so—"

She cut him off by grabbing his hand, not seeming to care about the cold temperature. "Well, I don't. And if I'm the only one to ever see you, you can stay by me for as long as we both exist. I don't want you to be alone, Jack. Because I know what it feels like."

He looked up, and met those beautiful eyes again. Earlier, he had thought that the power her hair radiated was greater than that coming from her. But in this moment, it seemed that her kindness was far stronger than any magic her hair could provide.

He smiled. "Thanks, Punzie."

She grinned at the nickname, poking him in the shoulder "Which way first, Frosty?"

"Where do you think? Up."

* * *

 **A/N: How was it? I changed a lot of plot things while editing this, so it might be a little chunky. Next chapter, we continue along the HTTYD2 plot! Guess who'll be narrating it? (Hint: King of Sarcasm.)**

 **Here's your question of the chapter: How are you liking Jackunzel? Where do you think it'll go?**

 **Please Follow, Favorite, and Review! Please? It makes me happy. :) See you next time! koala789 is out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Heheheh... *hides behind Toothless* I'm sorry! School suddenly decided it would be fun if I had loads of work! Seriously, I spent ALL day doing homework! ALL DAY. I didn't even have time to eat a proper meal! I ate a piece of toast for lunch one day, and that was it. No joking. I have my serious face on right now. And I got four hours of sleep at night. I mean, I've done worse for the sleeping part, but the FOOD is the trouble here. ONLY A PIECE OF TOAST TO EAT FOR AN ENTIRE DAY?! AND THEN THE SCHOOL GOES AND SAYS THAT WE NEED TO EAT HEALTHY? _HONESTLY?!_ *takes deep breath* Okay, rant done. (Mostly.) Here's the first chapter from Hiccup's perspective. And if you're wondering when I'm going to update my other story, Forgotten Family, it'll be soon! Probably tomorrow, if we're lucky. I'm almost done writing the chapter, there's just one more scene I need to put in. Anyway, I'll shut up now! Enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned these... my life would be SO much more interesting! But, I don't, so we move on. Anyone who's confused out there... I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! 'Kay thanks. XD**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Hiccup sailed above the clouds, still fuming from the argument with his father.

" _I'm trying to protect our dragons, and stop a war! How is that irresponsible?"_ he'd asked.

It was just like Stoick the Vast. Choosing to see the worst in people. Drago probably didn't understand dragons, much like Hiccup had, at one point. But you couldn't rightly judge someone until you knew them.

 _He had_ one _encounter! How can he know him enough to call him a madman?_

" _Irresponsible!"_ the word echoed in his head.

 _It's just like him. He's never believed in me._ Hiccup thought, holding back tears. He still hadn't forgotten the last thing his father had said to him before leaving to find the dragon's nest, five years before. " _You're not a viking. You're not my son."_

 _You're not my son._

Hiccup let out a yell of frustration, converting his misery into anger. He fell back onto Toothless.

The dragon grunted in question.

"Don't worry, bud." Hiccup reassured him, his tone soft in comparison to his outburst. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise."

Suddenly, Toothless growled, and Hiccup noticed the shape of a human rising out of the clouds in his peripheral.

He scowled, and sat up. "Aw, come on, Dad. Really?" He froze as he realized that the person next to him was not his father.

They had a strange, blue helmet on their head, that doubled as a mask, as he couldn't so much as see the color of their eyes. Leather and fur covered their body, and a staff was hooked on both sides, clutched in their hand. A shield was on the other arm, and a torn, red cape flapped in the wind.

The two just stared at each other in silence, as Hiccup tried to figure out what to do.

Then as quickly as the stranger came, they vanished beneath the clouds once again.

But Hiccup knew better than to believe that they were gone. "Okay," he said quietly to Toothless. "No sudden moves."

The moment the words came out of his mouth, the person shot out of the clouds again, on the back of a strange dragon. Hiccup and Toothless stopped, frozen in awe.

The rider pointed their staff towards Hiccup, and the dragon came to face the original duo. The dragon's wings suddenly split, revealing four, instead of the usual two.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Hold on, hold on."

The two dragons growled at each other, but Hiccup picked up on another sound. The sound of more wings behind him. Whirling around, a dragon picked him up by the shoulders, and out of his seat, and rendering Toothless flightless.

Hiccup's dragon fell towards the frozen ocean beneath them, roaring in fear.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called helplessly after his dragon, before he disappeared out of sight.

As they flew, Hiccup studied his situation, trying to think of a way out. He couldn't tame this dragon, since he couldn't grab his sword from this position. And he definitely wouldn't kill it, leaving escape as his next option.

But they were far above the sea below, leaving it next to impossible to safely do so.

 _Fine then. Negotiation._

Hiccup turned back to the dragon rider in front of him. "Hey! You left my dragon back there! He can't fly on his own, he'll drown!"

Either the rider didn't hear him, or didn't care.

Hiccup clenched his jaw, then studied where they were going.

Ahead of them, a ginormous island of stone and ice loomed out of the sea, similar to that of the dragon hunters' fortress.

The group of dragons flew into a crack in the rock, diving and weaving around the stalagmites surrounding them, until they finally entered a cavern with a stone floor, and ice for a ceiling.

As Hiccup was dropped to the ground, he rolled, righting himself, before turning to face the sudden multitude of dragons.

"We have to head back for my dragon!" he called, hoping that the dragon rider could hear him.

He froze as a nearby reptile stepped closer, growling threateningly.

With only a moment's hesitation, recalling all of the times he had tried and failed to fight dragons in his past, Hiccup pulled out his sword, and the blade shot out of the hilt, igniting. He waved it around himself a few times, dazzling the dragons. It succeeded on most of them, but then one to his back growled.

He turned, and the blade withdrew. Bending down, he changed out the capsule of Zippleback gas, and changed his grip on the weapon. He sprayed the green gas in a circle around him, before crouching, and igniting it with a spark.

Finally, every one of the dragons was peaceful, and tameable. Hiccup stretched out his hand, much more confident than he had been five years ago, taming Toothless, and stepped towards the closest dragon.

It allowed him to come closer, and was about to put his hand on its snout when the same rider from earlier hopped to the ground.

He withdrew his hand, and backed away carefully. "Who are you?" he asked.

When no response came, he began guessing. "The dragon thief?"

Nothing.

"Uh, Drago Bludvist?"

Still nothing.

Hiccup clenched his jaw, exasperated. "Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

The rider cut him off by slamming their staff against the ground, sending two dragons flying in the entrance, carrying a third. The two flying dropped the captive dragon in front of Hiccup.

"Toothless!" he realized, running over to his cold, and wet dragon, embracing him. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," he said, for both Toothless and himself. "I'm glad to see you too, bud. You really had me worried, there."

Toothless licked his face, but for once, Hiccup didn't care, as he saw the same fear in the dragon's eyes as he had in the forest, when the viking had been ready to cut the Night Fury's heart out.

The rider lightly shook their staff, and flames ignited in several dragons' mouths, providing light to the otherwise dim cavern.

They stepped forward, almost out of curiosity. Hiccup's fingers itched for his sword, but stopped when the rider dropped both their staff and their shield, crawling up to Toothless in a surprisingly dragon-like way.

Toothless growled at the stranger, curling his tail protectively around his best friend.

The rider stretched out a hand, and Toothless suddenly relaxed, falling to the ground as if he were surrounded by grass.

Hiccup stared at the scene in surprise. Not only had the rider used a trick that was unknown to Hiccup, but they had incapacitated a Night Fury faster than anyone ever could.

Supposedly.

Hiccup began backing away as the rider neared him as well, their hand still outstretched, as if they were expecting to do the same thing to the viking.

Instead, they reached forward to touch his face.

"Uh," he flinched away, surprised at the closeness.

The rider gasped and pulled away, crouching to the ground as if somehow afraid.

"Hiccup?" they asked, voice cracking.

He blinked, surprised at the sound of his name. "Uh…"

The rider pulled their helmet off, revealing the face of a middle-aged woman, with familiar, wide green eyes. "Could it be?" she asked, straightening. "After all these years? How is this possible?" she mumbled.

Hiccup blinked again, still utterly confused. "Uh, should I… Should I know you?"

She seemed about to answer for a moment, before her face fell, and she looked away. "No. You were only a babe."

He frowned, trying to place this person. Around his father's age, but that really didn't help much. She had long brown hair, similar to his own in color. She was built more thin, and willowy, unlike most of the people he'd met in his life.

She looked incredibly familiar, but he was sure that he'd never seen her before. She just felt… right. She seemed as familiar as his own face.

The word "Who" began to form on his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to vocalize the question.

Her green eyes met his slowly. "But a mother never forgets." she whispered.

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he stumbled back in utter shock.

The mother he'd never known, who was supposed to have been killed by dragons, was standing in front of him, a small smile so similar to his own on her face, and surrounded by the very things that were supposed to be the very cause of his mother's death.

His mother.

 _My mother._

* * *

"Hold on, wait just a minute!"

"This way."

Hiccup raced after his mother, sure that his frustration was showing on his face. You couldn't just run off like she had!

"Come back here!"

She hesitated for a moment to face him and gesture. "Come."

 _Aw, come on._ "You can't just say something like that, and run off." Hiccup ducked under some rocks, knowing Toothless was obediently following. "You're my _mother_? I mean, what the—" He ducked again. "Do you—Do you grasp how _insane_ it sounds?"

And yet, it made perfect sense. And he had no clue why.

The rider hooked her staff onto the top of a steep ledge, and used it to hoist herself up with surprising agility. "Come, quickly."

"I have questions!" Hiccup tried to scramble up the ledge, but it wasn't easy with his peg leg. "Where have you been all this time? Gah!" He cried out in surprise as Toothless shoved him up and onto level ground. Not taking any time to recover, he leapt up again, starting after his mother once more. "What have you been doing? They said you were _dead_." He ducked and weaved some more, hoping he was going in the right direction, as she had long since vanished.

Even though Hiccup had never really known his mother, Valka, he'd always longed to meet her. For most of his life, he'd been dealing with an oppressive father, who had always something more out of Hiccup. Something that he couldn't give. Those responsibilities had weighed down on him, when he only wanted, at first, acceptance. But when he met Toothless, a new option had become available. Freedom. But it still didn't feel like he had that either.

"Everyone thinks you were eaten by a…" His voice trailed off as he saw the incredible view before him.

 _Dragons_. Dragons everywhere. Of all shapes and sizes, all colors and species. Spiraling around the center pillar, or resting in the vibrant foliage around them, there were hundreds of dragons beneath the icy dome overhead.

Hiccup found himself walking to the edge of the mossy overhang, eyes wide with shock. He saw species that he had long since written off as extinct, and some that he'd never even read of. There were some even beyond what his overactive mind could have imagined.

He looked over at Toothless, grinning, only to see his best friend's eyes latched onto the outcrop above them.

He followed his gaze, and gasped as he saw the four-winged dragon hanging there, with his mother on his back.

After waiting a moment to see if she'd run off, Hiccup spoke, his voice quiet. "This is where you've been? For _twenty_ years?"

Valka's eyes sparkled as she studied the nest around them, before nodding. The nod didn't look quite human, and more like Toothless'. Like a dragon's.

Hiccup gazed around them in wonder, remembering what Eret son of Eret had accused him of. "You— You've been rescuing them." he realized.

She looked around herself again, before giving her son another one of her dragonish nods.

"Unbelievable." Hiccup whispered.

She tilted her head. "You're not upset?" she asked hesitantly, though her eyes still sparkled.

"What? No! I don't know." Hiccup stuttered, not sure of where to look. His mother's probing eyes, the many dragons crowding around them. Instead, he settled for the ground in front of him. "I— It's a bit much to get my head around, to be frank. It's not everyday you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady."

His eyes snapped up as Valka spoke, her voice touched with a hint of teasing. "Oh."

The four-winged dragon gradually helped her down from her perch on his back. "At least I'm not boring." Her feet touched the ground, and her eyes went to Hiccup. "Right?"

He ducked his head slightly, glad for the distraction of a new, colorful dragon nudging him. "Well I suppose there is that. One. Specific thing." he mumbled, glancing back over to his mom.

"Do… Do you like it?" she asked, nearing him slowly. It reminded him of some of the newly tamed dragons. Hesitant, a little guilty, and curious.

"I—" Hiccup gawked at his surroundings again. "I don't have the words."

Both of their gazes became caught on the group of dragons, now surrounding Toothless in curiosity. The Night Fury, in the meantime, studied them with a hint of apprehension in his green eyes.

One dragon nudged Toothless from the back, lifting the lower half of the black dragon up into the air. His eyes widened, and he snorted at the dragons around him, sending them off.

Valka laughed, and turned to Hiccup. Her stance was a little awkward, as if she wasn't quite used to standing on two feet, much less next to her son. "C-can I…?" She gestured to the Night Fury.

Hiccup nodded.

She gasped in delight, kneeling in front of the dragon and holding out a hand. Immediately, Hiccup could understand that she was much more used to this position. After only a few minutes of studying her behavior, one could tell what kind of company she'd been keeping for two decades. Everything she did spoke of dragons.

"Oh, he's _beautiful_." she gushed as Toothless grinned at her. The dragon nudged her cheek, and she laughed. "Oh, incredible!"

 _Two worlds colliding._ Hiccup was used to having to explain that dragons were normally peaceful, and it was nice to see how well his mother already knew it to be true. _My best friend and my mom bonding._ A small smile spread across his face. _Wow._

"He might very well be the last of his kind. And look! He's your age!" she exclaimed, pointing to some frills along the dragon's jaw.

"Wow." Hiccup breathed, studying where his mother had gestured.

"No wonder you get along so well." Valka laughed, before making a dragonish noise that matched the one Toothless was making. She chuckled again, then gasped. "And retractable teeth!" She held the Night Fury's mouth open wider, studying the gums. "How did you manage—"

Hiccup ducked his head, glad his mother couldn't see the guilty change of posture. The story she was asking for was not only a long one, but one that she may not like. She'd clearly become closer to dragons than even he had. "I found him in the woods." he said quickly. _Okay, true enough._ "He was… shot down, and wounded." _By me._ He put his hands behind his back, not sure what position appeared the most innocent.

Valka arose and faced him, a small crease between her brows. After a moment, she gestured to one of her own dragons. "This Snapplefang lost his leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps." She lifted the wing of another with her staff. "This Raincutter had a wing sliced by razor netting." Finally, she went to a purple one with clouded eyes. "And this poor Hobblegrump was blinded by a tree snare." The dragon sniffed the air, then found its way to her hand. "Then left to die alone, and scared." As if to prove a point, the dragon turned a shade of green.

Hiccup nodded quickly, not sure if she had seen through him or not. It seemed an awful lot like she was trying to make a point.

His mother turned to Toothless' red tail fin, an angry fire in her gaze. "And what of this? Did Drago or his trappers do this too?"

Hiccup didn't want to lie, but he didn't really want to tell the truth either. But then he remembered what had happened because he hadn't been honest with his father from the start. _Even though it still wouldn't have turned out well._

A nervous laugh escaped his throat, and Toothless glanced to him, a question in his innocent green eyes. "Yeah. Heh. Well, crazy thing is," Hiccup bit his lip, and pointed to himself. " _I'm_ actually the one who… shot him down." He turned to Toothless glad that his friend was happily playing with him. It was helping him prove his own point.

Realizing that his mother may be wanting retribution, he spoke up again. "Hey, it's okay, though. He got me back! Right, bud? You couldn't save _all_ of me, could you? You just _had_ to make it even. So…" Hiccup dramatically stuck out his metal foot and gestured to it. "Peg leg!"

Toothless grinned and shoved his head into the back of Hiccup's knees, catching him on his neck as they both laughed.

Hiccup studied Valka, unsure of what her reaction would be. He had just found his mother. He didn't want to lose her again.

She was scowling, but then met the eyes of Toothless, and her features relaxed into one of curiosity. "Um, what did your father think of your Night Fury friend?"

Hiccup looked down, thinking of yet another painful memory. _You're not my son._ "Uh, he didn't take it all that well."

"Mm." She knelt and began playing with Toothless, as if she really wasn't that surprised.

 _But he's better now… mostly. At least towards dragons._ "But then," Hiccup sat back and smiled. "He changed."

Valka glanced up in surprise, but almost immediately, her eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"They all did. Pretty soon, everyone back home had dragons of their own."

She laughed softly, looking back at Toothless. "If only it were possible."

"No, really—"

"Believe me, I tried as well." She stood, a dark emotion in her gaze. It wasn't anger, or sadness really. It was more… empty. "But people are not capable of change, Hiccup. Some of us," She sent him a small smile. "Were just born different."

When Hiccup sent her a questioning look, she bowed her head, seeming to be lost in a memory. "Berk was a land of kill or be killed. But I believed peace was possible." She laughed, though it was without joy. "It was a _very_ unpopular opinion."

Valka walked over to her dragon. "Then one night, a dragon broke into our house, finding you in the cradle. I rushed to protect you." Her gaze softened, and she smiled as she looked at Hiccup. "But what I saw was proof of everything I believed. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, _gentle_ creature, whose soul reflected my own." She patted her dragon fondly, before her eyes became empty again, as the memory seemed to take a turn for the worse. "But when Stoick came, the dragon was scared, and began to burn the house. That's when I was taken." Valka sighed, looking down at the ground, and avoiding Hiccup's gaze. "You and your father nearly died, that night. All because I couldn't kill a dragon."

Hiccup chuckled, remembering his own words to Astrid, five years before. _I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!_ "Yeah, runs in the family." He smiled at his mother.

She avoided his gaze, the emptiness replaced by pain. "It broke my heart to stay away, but I believed you'd be safer if I did."

"How did you survive?"

She smiled, walking back towards the edge. "Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to harm me. He must have thought I belonged here, in the home of the great Bewilderbeast! The alpha species, one of the very few that still exist." she explained to Hiccup's confused expression. "Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons." Valka stated proudly. "With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest; a safe haven for dragons everywhere."

Hiccup stared at the blueish ice, and something clicked. "Wait, that's the ice spitter? _He's_ responsible for all that destruction?"

"He protects us." Valka said simply, seeming to put an end to his argument.

 _Later._ he decided.

"We all live under his care, and his command." she said as they passed a group of smaller, more playful dragons. "All but the babies, of course. Who listen to no one." She laughed.

The Bewilderbeast stood up, rising further out of the water. His icy blue gaze studied Hiccup. He was vaguely aware of both Valka and Toothless bowing, the latter a little more reluctantly.

"I've lived among them for _twenty years_ , Hiccup." Valka explained. "Discovering their secrets." She laughed as the alpha dragon blew a cloud of ice into the younger rider's hair. "He likes you."

Hiccup ran his hands through his brown locks a couple of times, getting most of the ice out. "Wow." He grinned up at the dragon.

Valka turned away. "You must be hungry."

"Uh," Hiccup tried to remember the last time he'd eaten. He hadn't had a chance to eat breakfast because of Stoick's little "talk" that morning, and that had led to him meeting Merida, and the dragon trappers.

 _Merida._ he remembered. He'd only managed to get her out of his head from a fight with Stoick, and the discovery of a dragon nest and a long lost parent. Quite impressive, in his opinion. He could not forget her fiery determination, the confident way she carried herself. In some ways, Hiccup and Merida were vastly different, but in others, they were the exact same.

 _You met her once._ he reminded himself.

"Hiccup?" Valka asked.

"Um, yeah, I could eat."

"Good." His mother smiled. "It's feeding time." She glanced back at him, the hesitant dragon look back on her face. "If— If you want to stay, I mean."

Hiccup looked around the nest. It was the perfect way to temporarily run away from his father. _But for how long?_ a part of him asked.

Part of him wanted to stay forever, but it wasn't in his nature to do that. Not while Berk needed protecting.

 _For now._ he decided as he looked at his mother. "Absolutely."

* * *

 **A/N: Didjalikedidjalikedidjalikedidjalike? I know that this chapter is just from the movie, but not all of it... like his thoughts. You don't exactly hear Hiccup's thoughts in the movie.**

 **Hiccup: I'm glad they don't.**

 **Me: Shush. We'd only cry over you even more.**

 **Hiccup: Exactly.**

 **Me: *rolls eyes* We're not that bad. ANYWAY, please leave a review! They really motivate me, and make me feel all the happy feels. *grins hugely to prove a point* Also, tell me if there's any cute relationship fluff moments you want me to add! I already have a few, and if you think anything like me, you might think up the same thing I did. (That happened with Forgotten Family. It was crazy! It's like they're my evil twin! No, wait, I'd be the evil twin. *smirks evilly*) I've got a couple of ideas, but I don't feel like it's enough. Keep in mind, I'm mostly focusing on Merricup in this story, though awkward early love moments for Jackunzel are welcome!**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review! :)**

 **Koala789, out! *makes overdramatic handgun pose***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY! I'm caught up with school now, and my eating and sleeping schedule is relatively normal... *stomach growls, and I look at my piles of homework and cry* Thanks for sticking with it, you guys! (Great. Now I sound like my elementary school teacher, Mr. Upstill. Eh. Oh well.) Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Must this madness continue? Okay. Um... Mitch from Pentatonix is straight, true story, just like how I own this story, and the characters! Oh, wait, just a moment, I'm getting something... *listens to earpiece* Hm. Nope! Mitch is definitely not straight! So the previous statement is a lie! Hm? Oh, both of them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Whiz. Whack.

 _Stupid viking boys with their stupid dragons._

The clopping of hooves pounding into the ground. The whistling of an arrow through the air, then the crack of splitting wood as it hit its target.

 _Stupid messy hair._

The neigh of a horse, the whoosh of the wind.

 _Stupid peg leg, giving him that stupid saunter._

Merida drew back the string, the fletching of her arrow brushing against her cheek. _Stupid smile, taking up all of my focus._

She scowled, and set it loose. It hit her target, though not quite as accurate as she usually was. Unfortunately, a specific boy was messing her up, making her think of him instead of her aim.

 _Stupid sarcasm._

The fiery-haired princess pulled three arrows out of her quiver, nocking them all at once, one on top of the other.

Angus leapt into the air, soaring over a log as she drew her string back yet again.

 _Stupid, infuriating, unbearable, absolutely perfect green eyes._

Three arrows shot through the air, each colliding with their target. Perfectly.

But Merida didn't notice as she continued on through the forest, angry that her attention was divided. She didn't want this! She didn't want a man, especially not a _viking_. She didn't want _anyone_. She didn't need anyone.

She urged Angus faster, hoping to outrun her tears.

Merida had freedom, yes, _finally_. But she lacked purpose. After fighting for her freedom for so many years, she didn't know what to do now that she had it. She wanted to share her interests with someone, but she was infuriatingly different. Her father wouldn't understand her fascination with magic, and her firm belief in it, as well as the unseen world. Her mother wouldn't understand her outdoorsy, adventurous side, though two days as a bear had certainly lessened that gap. The triplets would just burn the forest down, and the other clans' sons were absolutely out of the question. Macintosh would just flirt with her, and continue to enlarge his already over-inflated ego. MacGuffin would barely understand a word she said, and the chances of carrying on a conversation were low. Dingwall would be completely clueless to everything she did.

No. Her freedom had been her own trap. She couldn't live without it, but it was strangling her.

She was alone.

Merida closed her eyes, giving in to her tears. _Alone._ The word echoed in her head.

 _Alone._

Suddenly, Angus let out a whinny, screeching to a halt, and Merida went soaring over his head, airborne.

She spit a clot of dirt out of her mouth. _Great. Second time today I've face-planted. Wonderful._

"Angus!" she scolded.

His eyes were urgent as he studied the ground around them.

Merida shivered, then frowned in confusion.

It was very early autumn. Early enough that many still considered it summer. And yet, the entire clearing, and even beyond it, was covered in snow. Biting wind whipped through her hair, turning her cheeks, ears, and even the tip of her nose pink.

"Angus?" Merida began, needing to remember that someone was there with her. "What happened here?"

He whinnied again, bucking his head.

The last time Merida hadn't listened to her horse, a witch had turned her mother into a bear. But she'd never been the kind to listen to others. So instead, she reached back to her horse, and grabbed her hooded cloak, tying it around her shoulders. Securing her arrows and bow, she pulled her hood up, concealing her bright hair, as well as most of her face.

Merida continued onward, ignoring Angus' warning neighs. But when she didn't pause, he clopped up to her side.

"Good horse." she muttered, her mind moving on to other things.

The source of the cold had to be even colder than the air around her, right? So surely the source would be found whichever way was cooler.

Her head turned to the deepest part of the forest, where the foliage was so thick, it was next to impossible to get past. Even as she watched, icicles grew from the branches.

"Well, dark, scary, and brooding it is, then."

Angus didn't seem to like it, but he followed her through the branches.

The air became so cold, her breath became visible in the air. She even thought about turning back twice, but she ignored it.

But the third time the urge came, she glanced back. "Maybe… maybe this was a bad idea."

Angus snorted, as if saying, _Ya think?_

Then she heard a whisper. The princess whirled around, and met the searching gaze of a blue light.

"A Wisp." she breathed.

A trail of them appeared, leading further into the dark woods.

Swallowing her fear, Merida continued on, following the little blue lights. _Bad idea or not, it needs to happen._

Just as she was about to touch each light, it vanished.

Merida's gaze was so focused on the mystical spirits, she almost walked right into a low hanging branch.

Angus snorted in warning, and the archer stopped just in time.

"Thanks, Angus." she whispered. She didn't know why she had lowered her voice, but something about the foreboding mist threw her senses. Maybe it was because of the fiasco of the morning.

 _Was it really only just this morning?_

Angus whinnied, nudging his princess closer to himself.

Merida was about to scold him again, until she heard a voice.

"What was that?" a soft, hesitant voice asked.

"A horse." The second voice was lower, definitely a man's. But his voice also had a ring of hesitancy to it.

"Oh… I didn't think they'd sound like that. They're described different in books."

A laugh. "I guess I haven't really thought about it that way, but I suppose that's true."

"But why would it be here? I thought you said—"

"I guess this one's tough."

"It is pretty cold." the girl said, voice quivering.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't mind it, really. _Really_." she insisted, as if the man had given her a dubious look. "It's something new. I want to experience as much as I can."

A laugh. "I think you got a little more than you bargained for."

A pause. "Yeah. I guess I did."

Merida looked at Angus, who studied the area ahead with a strange mix of curiosity, longing, and apprehension in his eyes.

The princess leaned closer to get a better look.

The clearing was filled with snow. But unlike the path she had just taken, it wasn't a harsh winter. It was more of a winter wonderland. Fluffy, delicate snowflakes drifted pleasantly from the sky, dancing in a gentle, though chilling breeze. Frost-coated trees sparkled in the sunlight, matching the icicles that grew from their branches. A blanket of snow covered the ground, strangely void of footprints. Because right in the middle of it all, two people sat.

The first was a girl. She was seated on a log swept clean of snow. One leg was clutched in her hand, and a hint of pain was visible in her pale features. A small, green chameleon was seated on her shoulder, playing with her _very_ long, blond hair. It was wrapped around the girl's arm at least six times, and looped across the ground in the clearing.

Upon seeing him, Merida decided that the man was actually a boy. He couldn't have been older than herself, but perhaps she was being thrown off by his lanky frame. He had tousled, snow-white hair, and had his back to her, but she could still see his pale skin. But his physical appearance wasn't what captured her attention.

All of the snowflakes that fell from the sky, dancing and twirling, revolved around _him_. They greeted him as if he were an old friend they hadn't seen for a long time. All of the cold surrounding Merida seemed to be radiating from the boy, not just the air around them. And though she had only encountered it a few other times, she knew that what he was giving off wasn't just cold.

It was _magic_.

Suddenly, a twig snapped beneath Merida's feet, and she had to refrain from cursing herself vocally.

"Who's there?" the boy asked, already turned to face Merida's direction. Eyes the color of ice scanned the dark trees, his hands clenched tightly around a frost-covered shepherd's crook.

"Maybe it was the horse?" the girl asked.

Merida frowned as she recognized the girl's accent. She was from Itchy Armpit—er, Corona.

 _Don't think about stupid viking boys._ she reminded herself.

The boy's accent, however, she couldn't figure out. It was similar to Corona's, but it really wasn't. The same went for an anonymous viking boy's accent.

 _If this lad's from Berk…_ the threat trailed off in her mind.

"It can't be the horse. We would have heard it a lot more. They're not exactly stealthy creatures."

Merida held back a snort. _Unless they want apples. They'll do anything for apples. But maybe that's just Angus._

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I'm not afraid of you." he called into the woods. "Show yourself."

Merida glanced to her horse, who strangely didn't seem to have any quarrels with the idea.

The girl mumbled something to the boy, and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah, you're probably right." he muttered, just loud enough for Merida to hear.

The girl cleared her throat. "Please come out! We don't want to hurt you."

 _My. Big contrast between the two. Wonder how they got thrown together._

The girl hesitated. "Please? What's your name?"

Merida was getting sick of the suspense. Who were these people?

Though neither the boy nor the girl seemed to notice it, there was one more Wisp left, floating between the two. Its delicate arms seemed to be beckoning Merida onward as she stepped closer.

It seemed she would only get answers if she continued onward.

The girl's eyes widened when she saw a hooded figure enter the clearing, seeming to materialize out of the shadows. She swallowed and raised her chin, as if trying to appear brave, but really wasn't used to doing so. "Wh-who are you?"

 _Maybe I should be dramatic._ Merida thought with a small grin. _That would be amusing. Then again, she would probably faint if I did something like that. And that boy wouldn't be too pleased._

Merida pulled her hood down, hoping that the sight of a face would calm the girl down. "My name is Merida." she said, her tone gentle.

She tilted her head, startled.

"Accent." the boy muttered. "She's from DunBroch."

Merida sent him a glare, for speaking about her as if she wasn't there, but turned her gaze back to the girl.

"Are you from DunBroch?" the blonde girl asked.

The redhead looked at her, confused. The boy had clearly just stated that. "Yeah…" she responded. "And are you from Corona?"

She blinked, furrowing her brow as she turned to the boy.

He shrugged his shoulders beneath a frost-covered cloak. "Yeah, technically you are."

"Yes." the girl turned to Merida. "I am."

She sent a glance to the boy, then took another step forward, putting on a friendly, lopsided smile. "And your name is?"

"Rapunzel. And this is Pascal." she said.

Merida began to turn to the boy, until Rapunzel held out the chameleon. It seemed silly to be introducing a pet first, let alone before your actual human friend, but she could see the loving way she looked at it.

 _Okay. I can play along._ "This is my horse. Angus." she said, gesturing to her companion with a smile.

Rapunzel beamed. "An actual horse." She began to stand up, then hesitated. "Um… is— is he nice?"

Merida laughed. "Angus? He's just a big softie down deep. Give him some apples, and you've won the wee lad's heart."

"Wee…" she mumbled.

"It means little." the boy muttered. "It's slang in DunBroch; its neighboring clans Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall; as well as another nation called Berk."

 _Hiccup._ the name immediately appeared in Merida's head. _No, bad Merida. Don't think about viking boys with adorable smiles._

Rapunzel nodded thoughtfully, then began to stand up, but almost immediately stumbled.

Merida rushed to help her, but the boy was already there, holding her up.

"You okay, Punzie?" the boy asked.

She nodded, then glanced fearfully to Merida, who was studying the two with confusion. The look in the boy's eye…

 _Oh… I get it._

"Um, you're probably wondering—"

"Thanks for catching her." Merida said to the boy. "I wouldn't have made it in time."

"You can see him?" Rapunzel exclaimed at the same time as the boy cried, "You can see me?"

Merida glanced to Angus. "Eh…" She looked back. "Why wouldn't I?"

The boy had a huge grin on his face, suiting him much better than his previous expression of loneliness, and dejectedness. "No one's ever seen me. No one but you and Punzie. This, this is…"

Seeing his distraction, Merida took hold of the blonde, continuing to watch the boy with a puzzled expression.

Suddenly, he shot into the air, letting out a huge whoop.

"What the—"

"THEY CAN SEE ME!" the boy cried out, performing a loop in the air.

 _What is with me and meeting boys who fly?_ Merida wondered.

Rapunzel laughed nervously. "Yeah, heheh. Well… Jack's not… entirely… human."

When Merida sent her a horrified look, Rapunzel held out a pleading hand. "He's not bad, I promise! He looks human, acts human… he just… isn't."

The Scot nodded, looking back up at the boy spinning and laughing in the sky. "Yeah, I guess. But I've never met a younger lad with white hair."

"They don't ever have white hair?" Rapunzel asked.

Merida furrowed her brow. "Eh… no. They don't. It's a sign of old age."

She nodded, seeming to file the information away for later use. "I remember that from books… I just didn't think of it when I met him…"

"When did you meet him?"

"This morning."

Merida sent her an appalled look. "And you trusted him? Just like that?"

"He saved me from a bear." Rapunzel said strongly, raising an eyebrow before shifting her weight and glancing downward. "As best as he could, anyway."

"What…" Merida trailed off as she saw where the girl was looking.

A gash was running up along the back of her calf, trailing off to the side by her ankle bone. The surrounding area was red, and though the blood was slowing to a stop, it still trickled from the slice in her skin.

"How did I not notice that before? I need to get you back to the castle. Where's your friend… Jack? You said?"

Rapunzel nodded. "Jack Frost."

Merida studied the frozen clearing. "Fitting. Jack! Get your butt down here! We need to get Rapunzel to a physician!"

Immediately, the not-so-human boy landed, scooping Rapunzel up.

"Frosty! You scared me!"

His grin, if possible, widened. "Sorry, Punzie." He turned to Merida. "Where would said physician be?"

Merida wanted to ask him how he'd heard that part, when she hadn't even yelled it that loud, but she shook it away. They had more pressing matters to deal with. "Back at my place."

"Where is your place?"

"The castle."

"The cas—" he trailed off, as if coming to a realization. "You wouldn't happen to be… _Princess_ Merida, would you?"

"That's me. Now, put Rapunzel on Angus. Then you won't have to keep carrying her."

"I can fly."

"Yeah, I caught that. But we can't exactly have you flying in. The others might not take it… kindly."

He grimaced. "People can't see me."

"How can people _not_ see you? That doesn't make sense!"

Jack obeyed Merida's wishes, helping Rapunzel onto the horse as they started off. "I… um…"

"I imagine it has something to do with you not being human."

He winced, as if she'd thrown a rock at him rather than stated fact. Maybe it was sensitive for him… being different. And given that lonely look on his face from earlier, he was probably an outsider because of it.

 _Just like me._ Merida realized.

"Yeah, I guess it might. But I don't know. I haven't been around long enough to find out."

"You're close to my age. If I was invisible to everyone, for my whole life, I would search for an answer."

He raised an eyebrow, a dry smile on his face. "Except I'm not your age."

"What—"

"I'll be a year old in December."

Merida froze in her tracks, staring at him.

He looked at her. "What? I'm a winter spirit, okay? I guess it happens."

"Oh… a _winter_ spirit. That explains a lot."

He shrugged his shoulders, eyes trained on the ground.

"Something wrong, Frostbite?"

He didn't even crack a smile at the joke.

"Boy. Someone's serious."

"I'm just out of my comfort zone, is all." he muttered.

"So am I. I don't exactly talk with spirits every day, you know."

"At least you can talk to people." he mumbled, his tone bitter.

Merida adjusted her grip on Angus' reins. "Doesn't mean they understand me."

He looked at her in curiosity.

She glared at the path ahead, wishing it would hurry them along already. "I'm a bit… different. That makes it hard to find a friend, unless—"

"Unless they were also different." he whispered.

She nodded. "I'm a princess, and I'm supposed to act like one. I was able to get out of an arranged marriage a few years ago, but that wasn't easy. I managed to earn my freedom, but… It would be nice to be able to share it with someone." She shrugged. "But so far, I haven't met anyone like that." _Besides an annoying, sauntering, sarcastic, adorable viking._

Jack furrowed his brow, but said nothing, instead turning to Rapunzel. "We're gonna be running into a lot of people, you okay with that?"

The blonde frowned, seeming to consider it.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Merida asked her.

"Overprotective mother." Jack said.

"Forbidden roadtrip." Rapunzel added.

"How overprotective?" the redhead questioned, feeling as though she would relate.

"I'd never even felt grass until a few hours ago." she answered.

Merida gawked. "That's ridiculous! What's wrong with going outside? It keeps you healthy, and you can go mad seeing only one room, every day of your entire _life_!"

"Technically there's three rooms." Rapunzel mumbled. "And it's a tower, so I do have a good view."

"Of the rocks surrounding the clearing." Jack stated.

"But there's a waterfall in the clearing!" she said defensively. "And lots of birds, and clover, and grass, and…"

"Exactly." Merida said, backing Jack up. "You were right to leave. You can't just be locked up alone, forever!"

"I wasn't alone." she mumbled. "I've had Pascal since I was eight years old."

"He's your best friend?"

She started to nod, but broke off, sending a furtive glance Jack's way. A blush rose into her cheeks. "Well, one of them, anyways."

Merida smirked, but decided to avoid teasing them. Neither were used to people, and she didn't want to test their limits. Besides, one of them could bring an early winter, and she wasn't about to allow her people to suffer through _that_.

Rapunzel cleared her throat, turning to Jack. "I don't know about all the people… but I know that I can't keep going on this leg. It's the best chance I've got."

"Maybe not…" Merida trailed off, her words extending with her thoughts. "I know of someone in the woods—a witch. She can be a little tricky, but you just have to buy a wood carving, and then be _very_ specific with what you're asking."

Jack smirked. "I take it you have a past with her."

Merida winced. "Yeah. Two years ago, I came to her asking for her to change my mum."

"And…? Did it work?"

She snorted. "Oh, it did! But instead of _switching_ my mum, like I'd meant, she changed her into a bear."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "A… _bear_?"

"We managed to turn her back before the spell became permanent, though. She's fine now. Anyway, if I remember correctly…" She glanced around herself. They were about to enter into the circle of stones where Angus had thrown her, all those years ago. "We need to turn right in this circle here. There's a couple of fallen logs, then the witch's cottage."

Rapunzel shivered. "But… in books, witches are _bad_."

"I wouldn't say she's _bad_ ," Merida assured her. "Just… eccentric."

The girl swallowed, and bit her lip.

Merida sighed. "Okay. Rapunzel, we'll take you to the edge of the witch's property. You can stay there. I'll go in, and ask for a potion to heal an infected cut, no other side effects. Jack, you can come with me, but I imagine you'll want to stay with Rapunzel?"

He scowled, seeming to be conflicted.

Rapunzel sent him a reassuring smile. "I'll be okay. I've got a frying pan, remember?"

"How could a _pan_ do anything?" Merida asked, loudly.

"I don't know. I've hit myself on the head with it, on accident. It hurt for days."

She shrugged. "Fair enough. Still, take this." She passed the blonde an arrow. "Sharp end into the target, okay?"

Her eyes widened, as if trying to take the entire weapon in at once. "An arrow. Just like Robin Hood."

Merida smiled and nodded, glad that they both knew the same tale. "We're here. Are you coming, or are you staying, Frostbite?"

Jack shook his head. "I'm staying here. Rapunzel needs me right now."

 _Alright, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone._ Merida bit her tongue. "Right then! I'll be off to make a deal with a witch." She exhaled loudly. "Oh boy."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Rapunzel asked.

Merida bit back her instinctive "No" as she turned back. "Erm… maybe a bit… the last time I saw her…"

Rapunzel clenched her jaw, determined. "Then we'll come with you. That's what friends are for, right?"

Merida straightened in surprise. "You think… we're friends?"

A flush rose into her cheeks. "Well… not— I mean— sort of— If—if you—"

"Punzie! It's fine!" Merida laughed. "I guess it's just… new for me."

"Same." her two companions mumbled.

Pale blue, ice blue, and sprout-green eyes met, and they smiled.

* * *

 **A/N: OI! This chapter was long! It was actually going to be even longer, because I'm trying to alternate perspectives every chapter. But the next one is going to also be from Merida's perspective, since there's a key plot point that I couldn't fit in here, and MUST BE IN THE STORY!**

 **Did the meeting go okay? Please tell me! Also, I'm changing the summary/hook thing, since it's kinda crappy right now. If that was in a query letter, it'd get a big ol' DELETE. So! How are you guys doing? Tell me in the towel section down below, and I will see you, *salutes* in another life, Brother. (Name that YouTube channel!)**

 **And now, for reviews! If you have a Fanfiction account, I should have sent you a PM in response to your review. If you didn't get it, PM me and let me know! You guys are fun.**

 **: Thanks so much! You're so fun and sweet. Here's some of my brain. *dumps brains on desk* Hm. That might not be good for my health. Oh well. I've got a heart, unlike the Tin Man! I guess I'm the Scarecrow at this point. Eh. Oh well.**

 **Thanks for the support! :) Make sure you Follow, Favorite, and Review!**

 **Koala789 out! *disappears with a swish of a cape***


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: *runs away from irritated readers* SOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY...! I have plenty of excuses, but you've heard them all before, sooo...**

 **Disclaimer: Me likey. Me no owny.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Merida hesitantly pushed open the small, wooden door. "Erm… hello?"

Scanning the room, she spotted the witch's small, hunched form at the far end, hammering at a chunk of soft wood.

The witch beamed as she looked at Merida. "Princess! Welcome back! Would you like to buy a wooden teacup?"

The indicated object was shoved in her face. "Er… no thanks."

"Are you sure? It's made from the palm trees of California!"

"What's California?"

The witch waved it off. "Oh, it doesn't exist in this time." Her eyes brightened. "Ooh! But I have a lovely selection of individually carved bee models. If you get all of them, the hive is half off!"

Merida glanced behind herself at Jack and Rapunzel. _See what I mean?_ she said with only her eyes.

"Oh! And you brought visitors. My, a winter spirit! Chosen by the moon himself! I hope your death wasn't too painful."

Jack's expression became bewildered. "But… I'm not dead."

"Of course not, dearie. Oh my!" The witch turned her gaze on Rapunzel.

As the cottage fell silent, Rapunzel shifted uncomfortably. An unkempt crow flew from nowhere, landing on top of the witch's head.

"Jeez, ever hear of scissors?" the crow squawked suddenly.

The witch snapped her fingers, and a broom smacked the bird off of her head.

"Quiet." she scolded. "If she cut her hair, she would lose straightforward access to her healing magic!"

Merida frowned in confusion, while Rapunzel gasped. "You know…?"

"Of course. Who could miss the sun's power?"

"Apparently me." Merida muttered. "Whatever this 'sun power' is."

"Mother said not to tell anyone…" Rapunzel muttered in a daze.

"Yes, it does seem like something Gothel would do, keeping the sun's power hidden." the witch muttered distractedly.

"You know my mother?" Rapunzel asked, eyes widening.

The witch opened her mouth to say something, but Merida cut her off. "Could you stop it with the surprises? The wee lass is about to faint from blood loss. Could you stop giving her more reasons to lose consciousness?"

The witch sniffed. "Children these days. No manners."

The crow appeared on her shoulder. "Absolutely none!" he croaked.

"I preferred the children in the Victorian era. Very well behaved! But I couldn't _stand_ those dresses. I'm surprised fifty percent of the population didn't die from being choked by those horrid things! No, the best clothes were definitely from my childhood. Simple, comfortable—"

"Er… Excuse me?" Merida tried to cut in.

"—although I did hate the shoes a good deal at that age. But when he took my sock! Absolutely inexcusable, though I suppose he didn't know any better. It's not like he wore any—"

"Could you help us heal Rapunzel?!" Merida cried, cutting off the witch's rant.

The witch folded her arms. "You have to buy something first, princess. You know the deal."

"Unfortunately I do." Merida muttered. "And a lot of good it did me."

"I did what you asked."

"You changed my mum into a bear!"

"How was I supposed to know that you wanted something else? You were incredibly vague in your instructions."

"Who would want to turn their mum into a bear?"

"Children in the sixties, of all the times. Honestly, I _never_ knew what they were going to do next. One minute they wanted me to carve them a simple symbol, the next they wanted me to attach them to a tree! Absolutely—"

"I'll take the carving of the weird bear with spots!"

"Not for sale."

"Fine then, the weird-looking carriage!"

The witch laughed at that.

"See? Eccentric." Merida told Jack.

"Very well. And how would you like me to heal your friend?" the witch said.

"She's got an infected cut on her leg. Something to remove the infection, close up the flesh, and _no side effects_!"

"Well, that's no fun." she muttered. "Very well! Moon child, place the sun girl over on that chair."

Jack obeyed, helping Rapunzel over.

The witch laughed. "A child of the moon and the child of the sun. A strange pairing indeed. But then again, the twenty-third century was a rather strange time when it came to romance—"

"Could we stay focused, please?" Merida interrupted.

She sighed. "Fine. It's a pity the sun's magic can't be used selfishly. Otherwise you wouldn't have even had to come! But I suppose if you didn't come, we'd be in quite a bit of trouble three hundred years from now, what with Fear and all. The Moon Child never would be in a position to…"

Merida refrained from banging her head against a wall.

"Do you need me to get any ingredients for a potion or something?" Jack asked, cutting the witch off.

"Yes yes, I'll need the reversed nightshade, and the scale from the Great Dragon."

"Dragon?" Merida asked.

"Yes, but this was an Old dragon, unlike the one you met this morning. This was a gift from a young man I met in the 500s. The poor soul was heartbroken after his best friend had—"

"Here you go." Jack said, handing the jar and the scale to the witch. "Need anything else?"

"Everything else is already by the cauldron." She snapped her fingers, and the room changed into her magical space.

"What—you didn't even have to walk out this time!" Merida exclaimed.

"Oh yes! I met that young man I was telling you about again, just the other day. He's learned a few tricks in a thousand years, and he was willing to teach me! He really is quite talented."

The witch wandered over to her cauldron, humming cheerfully as she mixed in some ingredients.

"Now, it would be more potent if I had a strand of the receiver's hair, but I know the price of such a gift, so I will just have to make do."

Rapunzel looked surprised. "Th-thank you."

"Of course! I would never rid you of such a precious gift."

"But… M-Mother said that…"

"Forget what Gothel says. She's always been overprotective about everything she has." the witch said as she pulled out the dragon's scale. But instead of throwing it into the cauldron, as Merida had expected, she merely mumbled something, causing the potion to glow gold.

"Now, I will be kinder than that particular man, because I will warn you that this potion tastes awful." the witch said, smiling pleasantly as she scooped the potion into a small container.

Rapunzel grasped the vial, studying the contents warily. After a moment, she lifted it to her lips, and swallowed it in one go.

It wasn't even one second later that she gagged. "What was _in_ that?"

"I don't think you want to know." the witch replied cheerfully. "Now, Princess," she addressed Merida. "I would recommend you go and find the young man you met this morning. He's going to be a little reckless in a day or two, and we can't have the future chief of Berk receive the consequences."

Merida's eyes widened. "How did you…?"

"Trust me! The world will be grateful for this three hundred years from now. Best get on with it!" she exclaimed, shooing the three teens out the small door.

"But-"

"Oh! And here is your 'weird-looking carriage.'" she said, cackling as she shoved the carving into the redhead's chest.

Merida sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to get anything more out of the witch. Besides, she'd wanted to do exactly what she had recommended… _not_ because of the stupid viking!

"Thank you!" Rapunzel called out.

"Of course! Come back any time, dear!"

The group continued on for a few more paces, before Jack turned around. "What did you…"

The cottage was gone.

"...How…?"

"She has a tendency to do that." Merida grumbled.

Rapunzel skipped up next to Merida. "So… what was this she said about the chief of…"

"Berk." Merida answered. "And he's the future chief."

"So are we going to Berk?"

Merida stiffened. "Of course not! It's full of vikings, and dragons, and-"

"Sounds fun." Jack grinned. "Let's go."

"Hold _up_ , Frost Boy!" Merida exclaimed, running around to face him. "First off, he's not there. He, erm… ran away. He's by Corona. Other than that, we've _no_ idea where he is, and trust me, he can travel like lightning. And finally, how would _we_ get to him? You can catch up to him by yourself, you have a _slight_ chance when carrying Punzie, but there's _three_ of us, Snowflake Brain!"

"You have a horse."

"It's across the _sea_ , nitwit."

"And what happens to water when it's cold?" he asked, smirking.

Merida scowled, beginning to recognize her error.

"It freezes!" Rapunzel exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "See? We've got a plan!" She spun around on her heel. "This is so _exciting_! I can't _believe_ I did this!"

Pascal gave her a thumbs up, with a half-smug grin.

"Oh, hush. You convinced me to leave the tower in the end."

"Do you have anything more specific for his direction other than just 'Corona'?" Jack asked the flame-haired princess.

"No. Well…" she trailed off.

" _We should go and check it out." the lean viking said, green eyes dancing with excitement as he climbed onto the midnight black dragon. "There's too much smoke for it to be a campfire, or even a chimney. It could be more dragons."_

" _I think that it's coming from the coast." Merida had said._

"Y'know the weird little coast that curves inland?" Merida asked Jack.

"'Course. I've flown over Corona a bunch of times."

"There was a lot of smoke over there, and he decided to check it out. He and his friend...s." she tacked on at the last second, remembering Astrid.

"You think he's there?" Rapunzel asked excitedly.

"It's as good a place to start as any." Merida said.

"Wow! This is _so_ fun!" she cried, kicking up a pile of leaves. "What does he look like? We'll have to know that to find him."

Merida's gaze became distant. "Windblown, auburn hair. Kind of long. He has two locks of it braided. He's tall, nearly two meters, and is missing his left foot. It's a peg leg, and it gives him his stupid, _irritating saunter_. And he's got green eyes." Her voice trailed off. "Like leaves blanketing the treetops. Green as a summer morning."

Jack and Rapunzel exchanged a look. Matching grins spread across their faces.

"What's his name?" Rapunzel asked.

Merida continued onward, lost in another time, when the wind rushed through her hair, and for once, she felt as free as an eagle, riding on the very wind she chased.

"Hiccup." she whispered. "His name is Hiccup."

* * *

 **A/N: ...I think I had a little too much fun writing the witch. And for those of you who read both this and Forgotten Family... *runs away, laughing maniacally* NO, I WILL _NOT_ STOP WITH THE MERLIN REFERENCES! Or the Pixar Theory references, either. Didja catch that?**

 **NOW! Guest Review! :D**

 **Guest: Soon, young one. Soon... according to my current outline. I did have to turn one chapter into two chapters recently, so who knows? But DEFINITELY no more than five chapters. More like three or four. Thanks for reading! :)**

 **Koala789 out! *flies away on Toothless***


	7. Notice (Sorry)

**A/N: Sorry if I got your hopes up. I hate getting alerts for a new chapter only to find one of these. But I feel an explanation is needed, so here we go.**

 **NO I am not giving up on this story. I don't do that as long as one person tells me they want me to continue. And one did. It's been over a year (gosh, over a YEAR I'm so sorry) mostly due to me thinking that I could write a million stories at a time, and consistently update two of those. Also school. This year was like a constant term three, if you get my drift. Horrid the whole way through. Also had some serious mental health plummets, also getting a LITTLE more romantically involved. Also switching friend groups. Yeah this year has been insane.**

 **So basically, my plan is to finish the more popular story, Forgotten Family. I'm telling myself to shut up and write it already because it's gonna have an eventual sequel too. Once that's done, I'll work on this. I've got a very detailed outline done, so writing it SHOULD go pretty fast, especially in comparison to my other stuff.**

 **Trust me, I love this story. I want to write it. I just was an idiot and started, oh, hm, EIGHT writing projects on top of school, mental issues, friends, crushes, and just LIFE. So I've had to put some things on the back burner, and this, unfortunately, is one of them.**

 **I WILL be back though! (Heheh. Terminator.) Y'all can PM me and hound on me to write if you know I haven't been updating Forgotten Family either. Because as someone who has been on your end, sitting around WAITING for a story to finish and writers just NOT, I am doing my very best to not do that. Just deal with my humanity, okay? I'm trying.**

 **Sorry again for the horrible wait.**

 **Koala789 out! *sails away on a flying-boat-fortress-thingy-with-WiFi***


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